An Electrochemical Outlook on Tamoxifen Biotransformation: Current and Future Prospects

Abstract

Tamoxifen is a nonsteroidal antiestrogen that is currently and widely used in the treatment of breast cancer in all of its stages, in adjuvant therapy as a long-term suppressant of tumor recurrence and also as a chemopreventive agent in women that are in high risk of developing this type of estrogen-dependent cancer. From a toxicological and (bio)analytical point of view the knowledge of the metabolic pathways of a drug is found to be extremely important. So, in the present work the most important tamoxifen biotransformation steps were reviewed in the light of recent pharmacological data. This overview also includes the current controversy concerning tamoxifen DNA-damaging (genotoxic) versus non-genotoxic mechanisms. A special focus will be given to the putative application of electrochemical methods as a modern and reliable analytical tool for determination of tamoxifen and its metabolites. Moreover, the potential of DNA electrochemical sensors for detection of structural damage to DNA as a basis for toxicity screening is highlighted. Future prospects looking for the importance of developing new analytical methodologies are also discussed.

Endocrine therapy inhibits proliferation and migration, promotes apoptosis and suppresses survivin protein expression in colorectal cancer cells

“…TAM competes with estrogen for binding to the ER. However, the effects of TAM are complex ( 33 , 34 ). Whether TAM activates or inhibits the ER following binding depends on the target tissue type.…”

Anodic Voltammetric determination of gemifloxacin using screen-printed carbon electrode

“…The electroanalytical techniques have proven to be useful for selective and sensitive quantitation of many drugs owing to their excellent specificity, sensitivity, speed of analysis and relative low cost, and, therefore, have been used to determine the active pharmaceutical ingredients in bulk, dosage forms, and biological matrices [25] , [26] , [27] . The electrochemical behavior of the drugs can also give insights into their metabolic pathway or their in vivo redox processes or pharmacological activities [28] . Voltammetric determination based on the electrochemical reduction of GFX in solubilized systems at multi-walled carbon nanotubes modified screen-printed carbon electrode has been reported [29] .…”